1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector device.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0168895 discloses a connector with male and female housings. The male housing has a receptacle and tabs of male terminals projecting into the receptacle. The female housing is inserted into the receptacle from the front, and both housings are connected properly by pushing the female housing towards the back side of the receptacle along an inserting direction.
An operator must position the two housings opposite to one another prior to starting a connecting operation. However, the male housing may be located at an inner distant position. In this situation, the operator must stretch his or her arm to position the two housings, thereby complicating the assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,502 discloses a connector with first and second housings. The first housing is accommodated in a casing. The housings are engaged by inserting the second housing into the casing from above. The first housing is moved sideways by a cam mechanism formed between the first housing and the casing to be pulled towards the second housing. The two housings are connected properly when the second housing is accommodated completely into the casing. Accordingly, approaching directions of the two housings and actual connecting directions thereof are substantially normal to each other. Thus, the operator can complete a connecting operation merely by pushing the second housing toward the back side, even if the first housing is at an inner position and difficult to reach.
Frictional resistance occurs while connecting male and female terminals, and the frictional resistance becomes large as the number of terminals of the connector is increased. Thus, an excessive operating force may be required to push the second housing of the connector disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,502, thereby presenting a large operational burden.
Some connectors use a lever to assist the connecting operation. However, the prior art lever cannot be operated in the above-described connector where at least one of the housings is at an inner position difficult to reach by the hand.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-91018 discloses a connector with a waiting-side housing and a movable-side housing. The waiting-side housing is fixed by being inserted through a through hole in a dashboard of an automotive vehicle. The movable-side housing is brought closer to the waiting-side housing from an engine compartment to connect the two housings in an instrument panel. However, a partition wall or the like in the engine compartment becomes a barrier and complicates movement of the movable-side connector housing towards the dashboard, thereby presenting assembly difficulties.
The invention was developed in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to improve assembly efficiency of a connector.